Episode 1367: Vlad Tidings
Date April 26, 2019 Summary Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the long-awaited promotion of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., baseball-watching etiquette at a bachelorette party, and Mike Trout if he weren’t trying, then answer listener emails about Rhys Hoskins, Jacob Rhame, and the latest unwritten-rules flare-up between the Phillies and Mets, Tyler Wade, Andrelton Simmons, and a questionable application of replay view, how home-plate umpires would perform with transparent players, what type of MLB players they’d prefer to be, how best to distribute 50 WAR across a career, the odd assortment of baseball players (and fees) on Cameo, balls bouncing into the strike zone, and the potential effects of a bigger and/or heavier baseball. Topics * Umpire performance with transparent players * What kind of MLB player would you be? * How to distribute 50 WAR over a career? * Baseball players using Cameo * If pitchers could bounce pitches for strikes * Results of a heavier baseball Intro Camera Obscura, "Number One Son" Outro Jenny Lewis, "The Next Messiah" Episode outtake sound clip Banter * Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be promoted soon and make his MLB debut. Meg wonders about the etiquette of watching his debut on her phone while at a bachelorette party. Ben is also entertained by all the tweets from Guerrero Sr. * Rhys Hoskins' slow home run trot and baseball etiquette * Use of replay to confirm a hidden ball trick and how to treat close plays * Meg wonders what Mike Trout's true potential could be if he were somehow holding back some of his talent and not actively playing as the best version of himself. Email Questions * Richard: "Richard: Any thoughts on the Hoskins Trot from last night? For context, Mets pitcher Jacob Rhame three a ball over Rhys Hoskins head on Tuesday night. On Wednesday night, Hoskins faced him in the 9th and hit a dinger. He then proceeded to do a very slow trot around the bases, which was clocked as the slowest (34.2 s) ever recorded. Is this better, worse, or equivalent to a bat flip? I feel like I can see the argument for any of these." * Mitch: "A call went against my favorite team" has got to be the worst, least-sympathetic complaint possible in baseball, especially coming from a Yankees fan, but something just happened in Anaheim that I genuinely think might overcome that barrier and make for some decent banter. The Angels just "pulled off" a hidden ball trick against the Yankees because replay was able to catch the microsecond, after the play had fundamentally concluded, wherein Andrelton Simmons MIGHT have been touching Tyler Wade's back while Wade shifted his weight from one foot to the other and came marginally off the bag. This has gotta be the worst use of replay ever, right? It's not trying to get a play right, it's not checking a home run, it's just snipping the right camera frames to manufacture an out from nothing." * James: "If MLB umpires currently make 14 wrong ball/strike calls a game, how many do you think they would make if the hitter and catcher were both transparent, and there was nothing blocking the view that the umpire had of the ball crossing the plate?" * Jenny: "If you were you, but with the talent to be a major leaguer, what type of player would you be? For example: What I would like to be is a defensively excellent third baseman that can hit ok, but I'd more likely be a hard throwing but sometimes wild relief pitcher who can have great streaks but who can get VERY emotional in a bad outing." * Casey J: "I wanted to bring to your attention this website called Cameo. The idea is that you pay a chosen amount for a specific celebrity to record a little video using their phone and send it to you or a friend as a gift. You can put in a 250 character description of what you want them to say. For example Brett Favre and Roger Clemens charge 500$ each. While Orlando Hudson charges only 25$. My biggest question is about a guy like Dan Otero who is making roughly $1.25 Mil this season. How many videos does he need to record at 40$ a pop, per week, to make it worth his while? I know I could use the money, but I’m guessing Whit Merrifield is doing okay financially." * Conor: "Forgive me if this has been covered before, but how much would the game change if balls could be bounced into the strike zone? The strike zone stays the same and pitchers can pitch normally but are also able to bounce pitches for strikes. It has always bothered me that batters can still get a HBP on a ball that bounces, so why not also make them worry about pitchers bouncing balls into the strike zone?" * David: "Inspired by the recent question about distributing 35 WAR across a team, I was wondering: If the baseball gods came to you—a very good teenaged baseball player—and said that you would be worth 50 WAR in your MLB career, but it was up to you to decide how you distribute the wins (and after you decided, your memory of the decision would be wiped Men In Black style)...How would you distribute 50 WAR over your baseball career?" * Alex: "I was watching baseball this evening, as one is known to do, and was thinking about the conversations going on about the pitchers being so good these days and the overall need for an increase in pace of place. It struck me: what if the ball was a little heavier. Mind you, I only mean a little bit heavier. But seriously, what would the effect be of the ball being a little bit heavier. It would make pitchers slower, I imagine. Also balls wouldn’t fly as far. Presumably this would also have an impact on fielders and catchers throwing too? Also, if MLB decided to make the balls a little heavier, how long do you think it would take for players to notice?" Notes * Meg says that she would want to be a Jose Altuve-like player or a hard throwing reliever who displays impressive power for their size. Ben also said that he would like to be a reliever. * When answering David's question Ben mentions a related discussion from Episode 1184 where there was talk about how to best distribute the World Series wins of a team you root for. * Ben and Meg are surprised at the type of baseball players using Cameo, particularly those that have very lucrative contracts and are not making any appreciable amount of money via the service.Ben would have expected more minor league players to use the service. * In Episode 650 Ben and Sam discussed the potential of Jon Lester bouncing pitches for strikes. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 1367: Vlad Tidings * Vladimir Guerrero's tweet * Rhys Hoskins Trolled The Mets With A Leisurely Stroll Around The Bases by Chris Thompson * Hidden ball trick video * It's Time to Change the Slide Rule by Dave Cameron * Mike Trout Is on His Way to the Best Season Ever by Ben Lindbergh * List of baseball players on Cameo Category:Episodes Category:Email Episodes